Muslim leaders across the political spectrum have written a letter to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis demanding reservation in Jobs and Education sector for the minority community. Dhangar community leaders joined them for the demand as well.
The demand comes a day after the backward class commission report pointed out the socio-economic backwardness of the Marathi community. Joining the bandwagon, the leaders representing the Mulsim and Dhangar communities have asked for a reservation for their communities. They have requested CM Devendra Fadnavis to grant five per cent reservation for their community in government jobs and education institution.
However, Hussain Dalwa, Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, allegedly stated that the Muslim minority committee is asking reservation not on the grounds of religion, but on the socio-economic backwardness of the people of their community.
The Dhangar (shepherd) community who are represented by the ruling BJP party have been demanding the government to include their community among the Scheduled Tribes since 1980 but with little success.
Representing Dhangar community, BJP MP Vikas Mahatme, urged the state government to take a pro-active stand and recommend the decision to the Centre. “The decision to include Dhangars in the Scheduled Tribe category vests with the Centre,” he said. Currently, the Dhangar community is under the OBC category. However, if the community gets categorization under the Scheduled Tribe section, they will enjoy relatively greater privileges in terms of social welfare schemes, education, and government jobs.
The Maratha community has been termed as a backward community after they fulfilled all the 25 parameters laid down by the commission to determine the socio-economic background of the community. 43000 Maratha families were surveyed by the commission to obtain details of their educational, financial and social status. The committee also studied the two lakh memorandums that it received from the public hearings.
The Maratha community has demanded a reservation of about 16% but as per CM Fadnavis, it would be around 8-10%.